1. Field
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for operating automated cutting tool machines, and in particular, to a system and method for managing such automated cutting tool machines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automated processes are advantageous in applications having repetitive or dangerous operations. Accordingly, some industries (notably automotive and aeronautical) have adopted the use of automated processes in many manufacturing operations. Among such automated processes are those which involve automated cutting tools, such as drills (hereinafter alternatively referred to as automated drillers). Such automated drillers include a computer or other processor that executes a numerical control (NC) program that commands the driller on how to drill each feature (e.g. hole). Current automated processes have particular disadvantages which must be addressed to minimize cost.
First, such automated drillers typically work independently, and are communicatively isolated from one another. Hence, data collected from the automated drillers is only available locally in the individual machines. Further, any automated equipment used to setup tools that are used on the automated driller do not communicate with the automated drillers, or each other, because these devices use different operating systems and controllers. Accordingly, it is not possible to track the usage, failure trends and current location of cutters (e.g. drills) used in the automated driller machines.
Second, cutting tools typically wear with each use, and therefore have a limited lifetime. Automated drillers do not allow prediction of cutter usage or allow cutter usage and wear trends to be identified. The accurate prediction of cutter wear or usage permits “just in time” manufacturing techniques (e.g. providing just the right number of cutters to the right automated driller when it is needed and not before or after) that save money, improve workplace safety, and the identification of wear trends can identify areas where cutter use can be optimized to reduce costs. For example, it is useful to determine how many cutters are needed in theory and compare those numbers with how many were actually used. If cutters are not being used to 100% of their life, it is advantageous to know how closely they are used to 100% of their life and to identify why they are not being used to 100% of their life.
Further, cutters are typically returned to vendors for sharpening, but after sharpening, vendors typically provide the cutters with same serial number. Since the cutters have the same serial number it is difficult to identify trends in cutter use and wear. A system that could identify cutters that have been re-sharpen would help on better understanding behavior of these cutters and drive cost reductions.
Third, the cutting processes implemented by the automated cutters is imperfect, with some holes being burnt or drilled to dimensions that are out of specification or close to it. Even so, it is difficult to identify which holes were burnt, which cutter was used to drill the burned hole, or to identify any trends that might shed light on why such burnt holes are being drilled in some cases, and not others. At the same time, the NC programs used to cut materials typically define the features to be drilled in terms of workpiece (e.g. airplane) coordinates. This makes it difficult to quickly visualize the drilling process. What is needed is a process that permits quick visualization of any drilling process on any airplane in the facility. However, such NC programs are typically not maintained in the automated drillers, but in a server maintained by a team of NC programmers, and downloaded to the automated drillers when needed.
Fourth, if action is to be taken on a cutter or automated drilling machine, such action often requires human intervention. At the same time, the automated drilling machines operate on rails and their location is not always know. Hence, maintenance or identification of failures and failure modes is delayed and greater expense is incurred. For example, maintenance personnel may need to find the location of a machine that has presented an operational issue. Research personnel may need to locate a cutter that has been flagged as defective. The defective cutter is normally associated to an automated driller in which the cutter was being used.
Also, since different computer programs may be used in the automated drillers, depending on the automated driller involved in the process. This can result in different software versions, files, and timestamps of each automated driller. While it is possible to implement a network solution that involves adding new software to each machine, it is desirable to instead allow such software to be used within the network solution. What is needed is a way to implement a network solution that uses existing software solutions installed on the automated drillers and elsewhere.
Fifth, for purposes of interchangeability with any production line and uniformity of machine setup, the automated drillers communicate using an internet protocol (IP) address. That IP address may potentially be used to identify machine locations. However, the IP address for each automated driller is not unique, and hence, the IP address cannot be used to track or manage each automated driller independently from the other drillers. Further, many automated drilling machines include related system elements that would require reconfiguration and communication. Changing the IP address of each of the automated drilling machines is possible, but this would require re-configuration the communication between such systems. For example, such systems may include a human interface (HMI) computer, camera, and associated controller. Cameras allow for positioning of the machine to index features to be cut. Since such cameras are typically communicatively coupled to other elements of the network via Ethernet, they use an IP address to communicate with the controller. Use of a new IP address would require a re-configuration of this communication interface and long term maintainability issues.
It is desirable to have the capability to quickly and economically modify the parameters of the controllers of the automated drilling machines. For example, in a drilling application, such parameters may include drill spindle speed, feed rate, whether cooling or pecking are needed.
Finally, it is also desirable to audit the software used in the automated drilling machines. Some such machine controllers include nearly 4000 parameters that need to be tracked, and in a large manufacturing machine (which may have nearly 100 automated drilling machines each of which may have been reconfigured since the last audit), it is very difficult to know if all of them are running with the correct parameters or software versions. Accordingly, an apparatus and method to monitor and modify the parameters (e.g. by writing data and/or commands to the controller) remotely would be beneficial. This apparatus and method may to keep track of which entity is making the changes to machine configuration parameters and software, and keep track of revisions to the process control documents (PCDs) that describe such revisions.
A system and method addressing the foregoing needs is described in the specification below.